10 Worst WCW ‘On A Pole’ Matches

10. Big Vito Vs Reno - Nitro (Sept 11, 2000)

Object atop: a stickball bat.

Wrestling was always an inconvenience on Vince Russo's wrestling shows - something to get out of the way, ideally as quickly as possible, before the next swerve turn, beatdown or inane backstage segment.

This match was as typical as a Vince Russo creation gets. Fought between the manifestation of New York City at its most clichéd, Big Vito, and a hypersonic muscle-head in Reno, there was no feeling out process, stare-down, nor lock-up; Reno simply rushed the ring and unloaded rapid-fire right hands, as if stuck on fast-forward. The directive was plain to see: fight, don't wrestle as such (that's boring). The audience wasn't given time to respond to the moves because they did not matter. A microsecond after Vito nailed a fairly impressive top-rope elbow, Sean O'Haire distracted the referee. No time to soak up any cheers, no point in teasing any tension or drawing heat: there was a swerve turn to sprint towards.

The swerve soon followed; Vito's buddy Johnny The Bull turned on him after feigning to even the odds.

Then, the Natural Born Thrillers completed the beatdown.

And then, completing the unholy Russo trinity, the camera cut backstage for a segment in which Ernest Miller, Sting and Booker T conspired about something guaranteed to be retconned a month later.

The stipulation was superfluous, as it often was. This was a throwaway TV match fought between two guys who were barely over.